A/N: Ok so this chapter took me forever to write, because there are so many fluffy moments and that is hard for me. I have chapters 4-7 written on this one. I have been super busy with my own ghostwriting company so I haven't had much time for writing. I also have my own published books that I write as well, so I have been busy. In between it all I am also stuck in a lockdown with my 8 year old daughter who is in Grade Three. Remote learning is not going well. Needless to say I have been very busy with life and not much time to write.

Now, with that being side, I have four chapters left to be written for Becoming Zulu and then I will be editing and posting them. After Becoming Zulu is finished I will be focusing on writing Duty Bound Love and once that is done I will be going back to Legendary to get that one finished. I will also be working on sequels to Betrayal Leads To Devastation and A Threat From Within, but I want them written before I start to post. Things are in the works and they are coming, I am just trying to get the majority of them written before I will be doing weekly updates.

I am going to be uploading two chapters to this story today to make up for the time in between updates. Also chapter 4 is on the smaller side as it's the final chapter before Clay's situation comes to light.

Chapter 3

It was a week after the team had a family barbeque and they were all setting up spots on the beach. They had a rare Saturday off and the sun was out and the weather was hot. It was a perfect beach day and they were all taking advantage of it. It was surprisingly not too busy within the spot along the water that they picked. It helped that they were a large group and most would avoid going too close to them. You could tell by their appearance that they were Navy and out of respect most people tended to give them space to enjoy their rare days off. It was something that the guys appreciated immensely.

"You think they will be here soon?" Sonny asked referring to Ash and Clay, who were once again behind schedule.

"They will. Clay was probably too busy trying to figure out what toys he wanted to bring. Kids love the beach." Ray said confidently.

He knew with Jameelah that they had to get everything ready the night before, because if they did it on that day, they would never make it to the beach. She was already off building a sand castle with Mikey.

"Don't worry, they'll be here." Jason said, as he finished setting up the last umbrella to help keep some of the sun off of them.

They were all looking forward to seeing Clay again. The quiet little boy was quickly winning their hearts over and they all knew Emma was going to love him.

"There they are." Trent said, as he saw Ash's truck pull up into the parking lot.

"Told ya." Ray said with a playful smirk to Sonny, who just rolled his eyes at him. The guys all laughed and waited for Ash and Clay to join them.

XXX

Ash pulled into the parking lot for the beach and he reluctantly got out. Clay followed behind him with his red backpack that held his tablet and his inhaler. He had never been to the beach before, he hadn't really been interested in going to the beach. If he wanted to see the ocean he could look it up on his tablet. Clay did know that his father wasn't happy about being here. He had made it very clear that he was to keep quiet and be on his best behaviour. Clay wasn't sure what kind of trouble he could get into at the beach. He was wearing his only pair of shorts, luckily he didn't have any bruises past his knees. Walking across the sand, Clay noticed that it was pretty hot outside and he wasn't really looking forward to sitting in the sun all day. He also noticed that the sand was harder to walk on than he originally thought. He wasn't sure how he felt about it.

Clay looked up and saw that everyone that was in the backyard was all gathered around. He also noticed that there were three people that weren't there last time. Two younger girls and an older woman. They all gave them a warm smile as they walked over to them.

"Hey, you guys made it." Ray said with a big smile.

"Sorry we're a bit late. My place is a bit further out from the beach." Ash explained. It was better than admitting he had zero interest in another team bonding afternoon.

Though all of that changed the second his eyes landed on a gorgeous bombshell of a woman. She had light brown hair that was wavy and down with green eyes. The best part, she was in a pink bikini and it allowed Ash to see just how amazing her ass and breasts looked.

"Don't worry about it. This is my daughter Emma." Jason said.

Ash couldn't help but smile, it came across friendly, but internally he was very pleased by this. Emma, was sexy as hell and he would have loved to get some time alone with her.

"It's nice to meet you Emma. You must be enjoying the break from College."

Ash didn't care, but he had no idea how old she was and this would be a good gauge for it. He couldn't just come right out and ask, that could be perceived as creepy.

Emma laughed slightly at that. "No, I'm sixteen. Not in College quite yet."

Ash felt his dick pulse at hearing that. A combination of her age and her voice, the way she sounded, she was perfect. He always did like them young. When he was twenty he was dating a fourteen year old behind her parents' back. He did like em young, virginal and easily controlled. He wanted to have all of the power in his relationships and if they were young, he could make them do whatever he wanted in and out of the bedroom.

"Soon enough though. You must be excited for it." Ash commented.

"I am, but I have two more years first before I can get there." Emma said with a warm smile.

"This is my daughter Hannah and my wife Victoria." Adam said next, introducing his family.

Ash said hello and introduced them to Clay. Clay stayed quietly behind Ash and made sure to give a small nod to everyone. He wasn't used to being around this many people. He was still so used to being on his own, that a large group like this was intimidating and terrifying.

"Hi Clay. How old are you?" Emma asked, as she bent forward and placed her hands on her knees.

It took everything in Ash not to groan at the sight of her breasts pressed together. He needed to get some time alone with this one.

"Six." Clay answered softly.

"He's shy, he just needs some time to adjust to being around this many people." Ash said, trying to get the attention off from Clay. He was hoping they would be able to ignore him soon enough.

"Come on, let's get you set up." Ray said, knowing that Clay might need a bit of time to relax and adjust.

They all headed off and started to break off into their own groups. Emma and Hannah were soaking up the sun right where Ash could see them, but he could make it look like he was looking at the person talking to him. He was enjoying this beach day a lot more than he thought he would. He made a mental note to always come to beach day when Emma was around.

It was a good hour when Emma made her way over to where her parents were with Adam and Naima under one of the umbrellas. Naima had been keeping RJ out of the sun as he was still a baby.

"Is he ok?" Emma asked her Dad, referring to Clay.

The whole time Clay had been off on his own, sitting on the sand with his tablet. He wasn't playing or interacting with any of them. It seemed really odd to Emma, because most kids loved the beach and would be playing in the water or building sand castles. Clay was just sitting there all alone with his tablet.

"He's pretty shy. He was like that at the barbeque too." Jason answered.

"Until he started to talk about dinosaurs. Your Aunt Naima and Uncle Trent think he might be on the spectrum. Things like social situations can be hard to maneuver at his age." Adam added.

Emma simply gave a nod and then went and picked up the bucket with different sand toys in it and made her way over to Clay. The others smiled, if there was anyone that could get Clay to open up and have some fun, it was Emma. Emma went over and stayed by Clay, but not too close to make him feel overwhelmed by her presence. She started to dig in the sand to get to the moist sand. Clay was doing his best to keep his eyes on his tablet, but when Emma came over he kept sneaking peeks at her to see what she was doing. He wasn't sure why she was digging, but she seemed to be completely confident with it. Clay watched as Emma started to put sand into the bucket and then she patted it once it was full and she turned it over. Clay expected for it to all fall out, but he was shocked when it didn't. He watched as Emma tapped on the bottom of the bucket before she lifted it off. Clay was surprised that the sand actually stayed in the form of the bucket. He had never seen that before and he couldn't help but wonder how the sand was staying in that shape.

Emma looked over at Clay and gave him a warm smile. "Do you want to try?"

"I've never done it before." Clay softly admitted.

"No? Well then you have to come try. It's pretty easy with the right sand."

"Right sand?" Clay asked, slightly confused.

"You can't make a sand castle with dry sand, like this." Emma said, as she started to scope in the top layer of sand and flipped it over. Clay saw that it all fell out once Emma lifted the sand bucket. "If you have it too wet, then it's just mud and it won't work either. But if you dig a little bit, you'll find the moist sand, it's perfect for making sand castles. Why don't you come try."

Clay looked down at his tablet and then looked around. He kinda wanted to try it out and see what it was like. He was very interested, but he wasn't sure what to do with his tablet.

"It's ok if you want to put it down." Emma offered.

Clay thought about it for a moment before he carefully put his tablet down in the dry sand before he got up and joined Emma. She handed him the shovel and Clay got to work on scoping up the sand and filling the bucket. Once it was full Emma spoke.

"Ok now here's the tricky part. You have to be fast when you turn it over and put it down. If you go too slow, it can all fall out. You got this." Emma said supportingly.

Clay placed his hands on the bucket and after a second he quickly flipped it over and gave a big smile when none fell out.

"You did it. Good job little man."

"Now we tap?" Clay asked.

"Yup, give it a few gentle taps on the top. That's to help get the sand that is pushing against the bottom of the bucket off from it."

Clay picked up the shovel and tapped the bottom, then he slowly pulled the bucket off and he couldn't help but smile and giggle slightly at what he created.

"It worked." Clay said very pleased with himself.

"It looks great Clay. You know what, I'm going to just move your tablet over to the towels to keep it safe. Why don't you start on the next one and I'll be right back." Emma said with a warm smile.

She didn't want to leave the tablet in the sand, but it was also to get Clay used to the tablet not being within reaching distance. It would also keep it safer from getting any sand inside of it or getting wet by a strong wave.

"Ok." Clay easily said, as he was already working on the next one.

He had never played in sand before and at first he didn't really like the sand. He didn't like how it felt on his skin or how hard it was to walk on it. He liked digging in it though. It made him feel like he was going on an archaeological adventure and he was looking for dinosaur fossils or bones. Emma gave Clay a warm smile that he didn't see as she got up and grabbed the tablet. She jogged back over to the others, something that pleased Ash very much to see, and placed Clay's tablet back into his red backpack as Jason spoke with a proud tone.

"Nicely done."

"What kid doesn't love to build sand castles? I don't know if I'll get him in the water, but at least he's not staring at a screen." Emma said.

"Not all kids like the waves. You got him interacting and he seems to be having fun. That's all that matters." Adam said warmly, pleased to see that someone was able to get Clay to open up.

Emma gave them a warm smile before she jogged back to Clay.

"She's a sweet girl." Ash commented.

"She is very sweet and is a wonderful help with the kids." Naima easily agreed. There had been plenty of times when Emma would watch Jameelah for them. She was truly a blessing when it came to babysitting and getting kids to open up.

"You must be very proud Boss." Ash commented.

"I am. Her and Mikey, they are my greatest accomplishments. I couldn't be prouder of either of them."

"You know what that is like though. Raising Clay, on your own, that's a huge accomplishment. Especially when you factor in what you do for a living. Clay seems pretty special himself." Adam said.

"He is. I knew it would be hard raising him on my own, but that was the only option for me. I wasn't going to lose him and I was not willing to settle for anything less than what I wanted to achieve. Children shouldn't have to hold you back from accomplishing your own dreams. Just like I believe that children need to see their parents achieving their dreams. It shows them that they don't ever have to settle no matter what is thrown their way."

Ash had mastered how to talk about being a single father. The struggles he went through, but had the strength and drive to come out stronger through it all. He had perfected his speeches, had done his research so he could play the part perfectly. He knew it was vital to his image that he kept up the front that he was a loving and caring single father to a young son. That is what set him apart from the other Seals. It's why finalized his move into Green Team and got him onto the best team within DEVGRU. Now, Clay's use was quickly coming to an end and he would need to find a way to get rid of him, while making it seem like he was sacrificing to better his child's life.

"You couldn't be more right Brother. Kids need to see that their parents are also people and they have their own dreams. The best way to get your kids to chase their dreams is to show them that you are too." Ray agreed with a warm smile as he looked over at Jameelah playing in the water.

They spent the next couple of hours watching and playing with the kids on the sand and in the water. Emma was busy with Clay and it seemed like they were searching for things in the sand. When it was time for lunch, everyone came in and Clay's hands were covered in sand.

"Let's go wash your hands off in the water Kiddo." Adam suggested.

Clay just gave a nod and he went with Adam over to the water and he put his hands in the shallow part to get the sand off of them. Once they walked back over, Naima handed Clay a peanut butter and jelly sandwich just how he liked them.

"I made your favorite." Naima said with a warm smile as Clay took it.

"Thank-you." Clay said with a big smile.

"What were you guys doing in the sand Little Buddy?" Sonny asked.

"We were digging for fossils." Clay answered with a giant jelly smile.

"You were? I'm jealous now. I'd like to find a fossil." Trent commented, pleased that Clay was talking more with them.

"Cerb found a fossil once." Brock started.

"Really? A dinosaur fossil?" Clay asked, very excited at the prospect that someone he could know might have found a real life dinosaur fossil.

"Unfortunately not. It was a fossil of a fish. Best we could tell when the tide came in the fish got stuck in between some rocks and it couldn't get out. Over time it turned into a fossil. He dug it up on one of our runs."

"What kind of fish was it?" Clay asked, before he coughed a few times.

"I don't know. We never took it anywhere to get checked out. Maybe one day you and I can go and speak to someone about it and find out together."

"You still have it?" Clay asked, amazed that Brock was able to keep it.

"I do. I have a case full of different things that Cerb has dug up. I can show you sometime if you'd like."

"Yes please." Clay answered, but coughed a couple of times once again.

"How's your breathing Son?" Ash asked, knowing it wouldn't look good if he waited until someone else did.

"It's ok."

"He has his inhaler?" Trent asked.

"In his backpack. If he needs it, he'll grab it."

"Coughing is common with kids who have asthma. You might find the sand irritates his lungs a bit." Naima said.

"He has his inhaler if he needs it." Ash said with a final tone. He didn't want to get into yet another discussion about Clay's health. The only reason he asked was because he knew someone else would and it wouldn't look good if they did it before him.

They spent the next five hours at the beach enjoying each other's company. Emma had managed to get Clay to go into the water. Sonny had joined them and Clay's face was hurting him from how much smiling he had been doing. He liked it when Uncle Sonny placed him up on his shoulders as the big waves came. Clay had no idea he could have so much fun in a single day and he was really hoping he could do this again with them. When it was time to start to get ready Clay was sad, but he was also very tired after all of the fun he had today.

"I'm gonna take Clay up to get changed." Emma said, as she grabbed her bag and Clay's red backpack where his extra clothes were kept.

"I'll go with you." Trent offered, as he grabbed his own bag to get changed.

The three of them made the short journey over to the changing rooms that were located on the other side of the parking lot. It was one of the reasons why the team liked this beach so much, they had built actual change rooms and bathrooms for people. Making it a lot easier when you had children.

"Do you want to come with me or Emma Kiddo?" Trent asked Clay.

"Emma." Clay easily said, which caused Emma to smile.

"You good?" Trent asked Emma to make sure she was comfortable with it.

"Of course."

Emma took Clay into the women's side of the change room and she was happy to see they would be alone. She figured she would get Clay changed first and then she could get changed once she got Clay over to Trent. There weren;t individual stalls here and she was not about to let a six year old boy see her naked. She could understand though why Clay would be more comfortable getting changed around her, compared to Trent who was still a stranger to him. Not that they were very close, but she was a girl and it was natural for Clay to be apprehensive around an adult male that he didn't really know all that much.

"What do you say we race Uncle Trent?" Emma said, with a big smile.

Clay nodded excitedly and he went and removed his soaked t-shirt. The second it was off Emma was shocked. His torso was covered in bruises, there were at least fifteen of them all different colors and sizes.

"Clay, what happened?" Emma asked softly, as she stopped him from removing his wet shorts.

"What?" Clay asked, confused and completely forgetting about his injuries.

"The bruises, where did you get them?"

Clay mentally kicked himself for forgetting that he wasn't supposed to take his shirt off around anyone. It was a big secret and he completely forgot all about it. He had been having so much fun playing, his mind didn't even remember the bruises on his torso or his thighs.

"Seizures." Clay simply stated, exactly like how Ash had told him to.

"You get seizures?" Emma asked with a hint of sadness to her voice. Clay already had asthma, but to also have seizures as well, it was terrible.

"Sometimes I get bruises from them."

"Ok, can you give me one second?"

Clay gave a nod, though not really sure why Emma needed time for something. Emma headed out of the changing rooms and over to the male side at the doorway.

"Uncle Trent."

"Ya." Trent called back.

"Can you check Clay out. He's got a lot of bruises on him."

Emma was sure he was fine, but some of them looked really painful and very fresh. She wanted to make sure that Clay wasn't too badly hurt from them. Trent appeared within seconds and Emma could tell he was concerned and confused by her statement.

"What do you mean he's covered in bruises?" Trent asked, as he was already making his way around to the women's side.

"He said he got them from seizures. Some look pretty fresh on his ribs."

"Go grab Naima."

Emma gave a nod and made her way back towards the others as Trent headed inside the change room. She was hoping that everyone would be calm about this. She wasn't sure how the adults would react, so she had to make sure she stayed calm and hopefully they would as well. Emma headed over to Naima and everyone was already looking at her, as she returned unchanged and without Clay or Trent.

"Aunt Naima, Uncle Trent needs you. He wants you to check Clay out."

"What's wrong with him?" Naima asked, as she handed RJ over to Ray.

"He's got a lot of bruises on him. He said he gets them from his seizures. His right side is pretty bruised though."

"He gets seizures?" Jason asked Ash.

"He does. He's been getting them for a few years now. The doctor said he would grow out of it. He tends to get a new bruise every time he has one." Ash answered, but he was pissed that he was needing to deal with this. He never expected that Clay would want to go into the water or that he would get changed in front of someone. Now it was going to be another thing that the team would be asking him about constantly.

"Bruising is common for people who get seizures, especially kids." Naima said, as she got up and started to head off.

Emma and Ash went with her so they could both check in on Clay. Ash needed to make sure that Clay didn't say something that later could be used against him.

Trent was not happy about this at all. He didn't like that Clay was getting seizures and that was causing him to get bruises on his body. Trent instantly could see that Clay was feeling awkward and uncomfortable with him being alone in the change room together. Trent gave him a warm reassuring smile as he spoke.

"Hey Kiddo, I just wanted to check and make sure your bruises were ok. Emma said you got hurt from your seizures." Trent said calmly, as he bent down in front of Clay.

He was a bit worried about the bruises along his right side. Trent knew how easy it was to crack a rib. If Clay was in the middle of a seizure and he fell down, hitting a coffee table or the pavement, he could easily have broken his rib.

"I'm ok." Clay said, not wanting Trent to worry about him.

"I know you are Kiddo, I just want to make sure. Do you ever hit your head?"

"I don't think so."

Trent went slow as he pressed on Clay's side. He didn't want to cause him any added pain. He would need to talk to Ash about this though. He didn't like that Clay was getting this many bruises from his seizures. He looked up when he heard footsteps and he saw Emma, Naima and Ash walk into the change room.

"Hey Sweetie, I'm just going to check you out real quick." Naima said, as she joined Trent.

"Nothing feels broken." Trent said.

"Do any of them hurt Sweetie?" Naima asked Clay.

"Not really."

They did hurt a lot when they were touched, but Clay knew better than to tell anyone that. He knew his father wouldn't be happy with anyone seeing the bruises and he knew tonight was not going to be a good night when they got back home.

"Nothing feels broken, they are just bruised." Naima said, as she stood back up. She looked over at Ash and continued. "There are some good creams that are safe for kids that will help with the bruising and take some of the pain away. I know with seizures it can be hard to predict when they are going to happen, especially with kids."

"I didn't know about the cream, I'll pick some up tonight on the way home. Why don't we get you changed Son and then we can head out. You've had a long day."

Clay gave a nod and he went about getting changed while the others headed out to give him some privacy. Once Clay was changed they said goodbye and headed back to Ash's truck to get home. Emma quickly got changed herself before she joined the others back at their spot. They were all starting to pack up, but she could tell her dad was worried about Clay.

"You sure he's ok?" Jason asked Trent and Naima.

"Nothing was broken, he's just bruised. It's very common for kids to get bruises from seizures. They don't expect one to come on and before they can even sit down, they are hitting the ground and anything along the way." Trent answered.

"What about his head, that has to be dangerous." Adam commented.

"I asked if he ever hits his head, he said he didn't think so." Trent answered.

"As bad as it sounds, the good thing about the bruises means he's hitting something first before his head hits the ground. That small detour in his body is what is protecting his head from hitting the ground first. It's not ideal in any sense of the word, but it is saving his brain from injury." Naima added.

"We'll have to keep an eye on him when we are all together, make sure if he does have one, someone is close by to catch him." Jason said.

"We will. He'll be ok. A lot of kids grow out of them. He probably won't have them for much longer, a few years at most." Trent said.

"Alright, we'll keep an eye on him. For now let's pack up and get all of these kids home." Ray commented with a warm smile.

The guys were all very pleased with how the day went and they all enjoyed their time together. They had no idea that this would be the last time any of them would get to see Clay smile for a very long time.

A/N: Please review and let me know what your thoughts are! Who do you think is going to save Clay?